The Prince of Trouble
by WildlifeWarrioress
Summary: They have had just about enough of the youngster's thievery at Brockhall. So what happens when the woodlanders first discover that Gonff has been stealing from Kotir? Sorry, I epically fail at writing good summaries!
1. The Missing Bow and Arrow

**Everything related to Redwall is copywrited by Brian Jacques! In addition to that, all OC's are copywrited by me!**

******Oh yes, and this story takes place before the events of ****_Mossflower_****, when Gonff was a little kid. I know that the woodlanders seemed to be Ok with, or at least tolerated, his thievery during the events of the book, but I really doubt that they would of approved of it at first, even if the victims of the theft were their enemies. I also really doubt that they would not try to discipline him at first. This story is written under those assumptions.**

* * *

"WHERE IS MY BOW AND ARROW?!" Amber the red squirrel shouted as she searched all over Brockhall for her favorite possession. A female badger just watched as her friend basically trashed her home in desperation. "Have you seen it, Bella?" Amber asked.

Bella shook her head. "No Amber, I have not seen any bow and arrow lying about. Sorry. Have you asked Skipper?"

"Yep, and he doesn't know."

"Hmm. Well, I'm sure that you'll find it eventually. Perhaps you just displaced it?"

"No, I didn't. It's so strange; I put it right here." The large squirrel pointed to the tabletop. "And now, it's gone! It's as if it disappeared out of thin air!"

The badger rubbed her chin. "Hmm, that is strange indeed. Did you ask Goody? Or Ben? Perhaps they might know."

"No, but..." Amber came to a sudden realization. One name popped into her mind, and she screamed it as loud as she could. "GONFF!"

"Oh please no," Bella groaned as she facepalmed. "Not again!"

* * *

Just outside of Brockhall, a young plump fieldmouse was fooling around with an oversized bow and arrow. Upon hearing Amber's shout, he dropped it and jumped into the nearest bush. A few moments later, the badger and the squirrel exited the den-entrance that lead into Brockhall. Bella spotted the bow and arrow lying on the forest floor. "Oh, here it is. See Amber, I told you that we'd find it."

Amber retrieved her bow and arrow, relieved to of found it. "Oh, thank goodness! I was afraid that I lost it forever. But still, how in the world did it end up out here?"

The badger shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno."

The squirrel thought for a moment. "I still suspect that Gonff took it."

"He probably did."

"And he is not gonna get away with it!"

"If we find him, that is." Out of the corner of her eye, Bella spotted the little mouse sneaking back into Brockhall. "And just where do you think you're going?"

The young mouse greeted her in his usual cheeky fashion. "Hi Bella!" He noticed the badger and the squirrel glaring at him. "Gee, what beautiful weather we have today, ay mateys? Well, that's summer in Mossflower for ya!" He smiled sheepishly.

"Get your butt over here right now, Gonff!" Amber demanded.

Gonff did not obey the command. "So what do I do with the rest of my body, then?" he joked. "My butt can't just come off, you know-"

"I'm not joking! You come over here this instant!"

Realizing that he was in trouble, the young mouse silently obeyed the command.

"Did you steal my bow and arrow?" Amber asked, her voice stern.

Gonff started to act all innocent. "Me? Steal? Why, I would never do that!"

Bella sighed. "Gonff, do you want me to give you a little spanky?"

"No."

"Then you better tell us the truth, mister."

"Let me ask you this again: did you steal my bow and arrow?" Amber repeated.

Gonff grinned even more sheepishly. "Well...I mighta sorta...uhh...borrowed it...without permission...heehee..."

"You are in big trouble, mister!"

The young mouse groaned.

* * *

The woodlanders inside Brockhall heard Gonff's whining as Amber dragged him inside. "Owowow my ear, my ear, my ear ow ow ow!"

Bella followed. She and the squirrel were both scolding Gonff. "How many times do we have to tell you this: stop stealing!"

"Why did you take my bow and arrow? Why do you steal?"

"We have had enough of this, Gonff!"

"Next time I'll tan your hide so hard you won't be able to sit for the rest of the season!"

The young mouse remained silent, avoiding eye contact with his elders as they scolded him.

"So what did he do this time?" a hazel dormouse asked.

"Any guesses?" Bella replied.

"He stole something."

"Exactly."

The woodlanders started to complain. "Again?!"

"That's the fifth time in the last two days!"

"Gonff is always stealing!"

"Why does he do this?"

"I love that kid and his charms but I cannot stand his thievery!"

Bella held up a paw. "Relax, everyone. Ranting is not gonna get us anywhere. Instead of complaining, we should discuss this properly to solve the problem swiftly and effectively."

All of the woodlanders nodded in agreement. An emergency meeting was established: Gonff had to be dealt with.


	2. The Meeting

It did not take the woodlanders long to gather into a circle/oval so that the meeting could begin. As part of his punishment, Gonff was forced to listen to and watch the discussion. He sat on a wooden stool between two hedgehogs named Goody and Ben Stickle; they were his step-parents. The young mouse crossed his arms in frustration.

As usual, the woodlanders were discussing among themselves. Bella held up her paw. "Attention, attention everybeast! This meeting is now officially under order. Now then, as we all know, we have been having some problems with theft around these parts lately, and in all cases the culprit has been the same individual: mister Gonff." She indicated to the young mouse. "At first we all thought that it was cute and that he would simply grow out of it, but it seems that that is unlikely to be the case, and as such we must enact some sort of disciplinary action to stop this behavior."

The woodlanders all nodded in agreement, then turned towards Goody and Ben. They bombarded the hedgehogs with questions; Ben answered them.

"Have you guys tried to stop this behavior at all?"

"Yes, we have."

"How?"

"Oh, you know, the usual: scoldings, time-outs, loss of privileges, et cetera."

"Well, why hasn't it worked?"

"We don't know; why didn't it work on Tsarmina?"

The conversation quickly side-tracked. "Wait, what?" a squirrel asked.

Ben explained. "According to one of the soldiers, Verdauga had a hard time disciplining his daughter when she was young. Says she always bullied her brother and back-talked her father."

"Interesting," the dormouse stated. "So how did he go about making her behave?"

"He probably grounded her or beaten her or something; I don't know, I don't keep up to date with info on the Greeneyes family. Not that it worked, anyway."

The conversation went back onto topic. "So have you tried grounding Gonff before?" the dormouse asked.

"Yes."

"Have you ever be-"

"Okay guys, I think Ben and Goody have had enough of the questioning," Bella interrupted. "We're here to focus on what to do now and in the future, not to reflect on the past."

"I'm just so afraid," Goody stated. "What if Gonff decides to steal from Kotir next and gets caught by those cruel villains! Ooh, I cannot imagine what they'd do to him! I fear for his safety so much!" She wiped a tear from her eyes.

The friendly badger held the hedgehog's paw in hers. "It's okay, Goody. We all do. I don't think any of us would ever forgive ourselves if Gonff was caught by them. Why is why we are trying to correct his behavior now, before that happens." She turned towards the other woodlanders. "So, any suggestions?"

The woodlanders gave their thoughts.

"Let's just calmly explain to him the consequences of getting caught," Skipper the otter suggested. "Maybe then he'll stop stealing."

"Good idea Skipper, as always," Bella stated.

"I like that idea," Goody said. "To be honest I hate having to punish him."

"I do too," Ben added. "But what if it doesn't work? Plus, and I hate to say this, we still need to punish Gonff for what he did today. Otherwise he'll think that it's OK and that he could get away with anything."

"That is true, sadly," the badger sighed. "Any other suggestions?"

"How about you guys just make the punishments more severe," a bank vole mentioned. "Perhaps ground him for six days rather than three, for example."

There were nods of agreement.

"I say we should give Gonff a good hard spanking," Amber suggested.

Gonff gasped. "No!" he cried.

Debate erupted over the extremely controversial idea.

"No way, that's cruel!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"Poor Gonff will hate that!"

"He's supposed to hate it; that's why it's called punishment!"

"That'd teach Gonff a lesson he won't soon forget!"

"Spanking is wrong!"

"Letting him turn into a thief is even wronger!"

"Wronger? Is that even a real word?"

"Does it matter right now?"

"It'll cause him pain!"

"Which will teach him to never steal again; Gonff will associate it with a sore bottom!"

Bella pounded her paw on the wall. "Hey, hey, everybeast calm down!" It took a few minutes to get the crowd to silence. "Okay, now I understand that Amber's suggestion is very questionable to many of you. It even is to me-"

Amber held up a claw. "But didn't you threaten to whack him earlier?"

"It was just that: a threat. Wasn't actually going to do it. Anyway, although I disagree with such action I think it be best if we allowed Goody and Ben to decide on this." The badger turned towards the two hedgehogs. "Goody, Ben, what do you two think of Amber's suggestion?"

As did everybody else, Goody and Ben were disputing the idea.

"It's worth a try," Ben stated. "Nothing else seems to work."

"But it'll hurt Gonff," Goody argued.

"It'll hurt him a lot less than those Kotir soldiers will."

"But still, this is unnecessary."

"Of course, it doesn't really help when they can't even decide," Bella added.

"So are we going to smack him?" a water vole asked.

"I don't know yet; let Amber and I talk this out with them."

Bella intervened with the hedgehogs' argument, then they and Amber went into a small discussion about whether Gonff should be whacked or not. The other woodlanders watched, wondering what the verdict was going to be.

Gonff was very nervous. His whole body was tense, and he felt his heart pounding quickly against his chest as he thought of what his punishment might be. "Please say no please say no please say no please say no," the young mouse hoped.

When they had finished, the four beasts turned towards him. Gonff was nearly crying. "Are you gonna hit me?"

"No," Bella replied. "Not this time." The young mouse sighed from relief. The badger continued. "But, if we ever catch you stealing again we will give you a hiney whooping. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. You are free to go."

Gonff left the meeting, glad that he did not have to listen to it any longer.

"So what's his punishment going to be, then?" Skipper asked.

"This time, listening to our meeting will be his sole punishment," Bella answered. "I think anybeast would feel uncomfortable if they had to listen to others talk about how he or she is to be punished. Gonff certainly felt uneasy, especially once spanking was brought up. Hopefully he'll remember this the next time he plans on misbehaving."

"I see. Heehee, that argument was kinda fun, matey."

"Ah, nothing brings up a good long debate like spanking does," Amber laughed.

"Yep." Bella nodded. "I can't think of anything more controversial than that!"

* * *

**Hamlet: I've been a bit confused by it too, but regardless I hope that everything I explained in the A/N above clarifies things a bit for the purpose of this story. To answer your question of how Gonff's stealing is going to be dealt with in this story...I'm not telling, cause I don't want to give the ending away.**


	3. The Shy Little Mole

**I must mention now that I epically fail beyond the limit of epically failing ****with molespeech, ****so I apologize for that in advance!**

* * *

About an hour after the meeting ended, Goody and Ben reprimanded Gonff. "We never, ever want to hear that you have been stealing ever again!" Goody stated sternly.

"Gonff, please understand that we are only concerned for your well-being," Ben added. "We worry for you every day because of this. Please promise that from now on you'll keep your paws to yourself."

The young mouse nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Great. Now run along then."

Gonff ran off to play with the other young woodlanders, though he wondered how long it would be before another beast berated him.

Luckily for him, there was no more chiding. The rest of the day was just like any other day, as was dinner.

After the meal, a female mole approached Goody as she and her family prepared to leave Brockhall. "Mrz. Goody, woud you mind watching moi sun Dinny owernight? Hiz sister iz zick, she needz tou see a heeler, an Oui doon't vant him tou get zick."

Goody smiled. "Of course I will, Mrs. Talpa."

"T'ank you wery much!"

"No problem. I do hope your daughter gets better."

"Oui dou too, t'ank you foor your concern. Have a goud night, Mrz. Goody. Oh, an doon't wurry, Din iz a vell-beehaved boy, he shoud bee nou probem an very eazy tou look after!"

"Oh, I'm not too worried about that; I know he is. You go take care of your daughter now, and have a good night!"

Mrs. Talpa felt somebeast cling to her leg. It was her son. "It's okay Din, Goody's not gunna hurt ya. Zhe's just gonna vatch you foor the night. Gou along, doon't bee afraid, say helloo."

The shy young mole slowly walked up to the hedgehog. "Hi Mrz. Goody."

Goody got down onto her knee and patted young Dinny on the head. "Hello Dinny."

Dinny looked back at his mother. "Zhe's nice."

Mrs. Talpa smiled. "Yez, Goody iz very nice. You have absulotely nuthing tou feer. Now, gou along vith her, and Oui'll see you tomurrow." The mole kissed her son on the forehead, then she left to take care of her daughter.

Goody lead Dinny to her husband and adopted son. "Hi Dinny," Ben greeted.

The young mole hid behind Goody, being very careful about her spines. The hedgehog placed a comforting paw on his shoulder. "Relax, dear. He's just my husband Ben. He is very friendly too. Say hello."

Dinny did as he was bidden. "Hi Mr. Benn." He then spotted his friend. "Hi zurr Gonffen!"

"Hi Dinny!" Gonff greeted back. He started to poke his friend on the nose.

The young mole covered his muzzle with his huge paws. "Stoppit, Gonffen!"

Ben intervened. "Gonff, that's not very nice. Tell Din that you're sorry."

The young mouse stopped poking Dinny. "Sorry."

The hedgehog patted his step-son's back. "Good boy. Now come on, you two. We must be getting home now; it's getting very late."

The four beasts left Brockhall. As they travelled through Mossflower, Dinny and Gonff played with each other. They chased each other and pinned each other onto their backs when the chance presented itself.

"Gotcha!" Gonff managed to hold Dinny flat on his back.

Only to have the young mole flip him onto his back. "Reaully?" He sat on the young mouse's lower chest.

Gonff struggled to get free. "Okay, not really."

Goody shifted a giggle. "Oh Ben, look at those two little rascals!"

"Yeah, I see them," Ben said. "They're playing; that's what kids do."

"I know; it's just so cute!"

Gonff had freed himself and was now creeping up on Dinny, his eyes glued on the young mole's backpack. Ben noticed. "No, Gonff!"

The young mouse ignored the hedgehog. He swiped the backpack off of the young mole and ran. Dinny chased him, then tackled the thief. He held the young mouse on his stomach, and took the bag before allowing him onto his paws again. "Oui'll bee taking thiz back, t'ank you."

Ben shook his head, though realized that Gonff was only playing and that no harm was done. He decided against scolding him. _Plus_, he reasoned,_he probably did not hear me_.

It took the Stickles a little longer than usual to arrive back at their cabin, due to the youngsters' antics, but neither of the hedgehogs minded. Upon entering the tiny log cabin, Goody immediately went to work arranging a sleeping place for Dinny. "I'm sorry that this is not much," Goody apologized as she finished arranging the pillows and blankets for the young mole.

"T'at's okay, Mrz. Goody. Goud night." Dinny burrowed under the blankets, and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Good night, Din." Goody turned her attention to her adopted son. She tucked him into bed and kissed his forehead. "Good night, Gonff."

"Good night," Gonff yawned.

"And remember what we told you."

"Uh-huh."

Ben said good night to both of the youngsters, then he and Goody went to sleep. Neither of them were aware of the trouble that was to come that night.


End file.
